Wastewater treatment systems, such as municipal wastewater collection and treatment systems, typically rely on a combination of gravity conveyance and pumping to transport wastewater from various collections points to, and even through, wastewater treatment plants. Various factors may impede the conveyance of wastewater throughout the system, which may reduce the efficiency of the wastewater treatment system and/or may increase the required service and maintenance associated with the wastewater treatment system. In either circumstance the cost of operating the wastewater treatment system may be increased. For example, a decrease in efficiency may result in increased energy costs to operate the wastewater treatment system and/or a decreased throughput of the wastewater treatment system. An increase in the required service and maintenance may result from expenditures in equipment repair and replacement and the number of maintenance man-hours that may be required to keep the wastewater treatment system operating at an acceptable level.
Some factors that may impede the conveyance of wastewater throughout the wastewater treatment system may include, for example, debris and obstructions in the system, the accumulation of fat, oil, and grease (“FOG”) in the system, which may act as an obstruction to the flow of wastewater, gas evolution and/or accumulation in the system, etc. As noted, often remedying such causes of pumping or conveyance inefficiencies may involve collection systems operators and maintenance crews spending relatively significant amounts of time and money on physically, chemically or biologically reducing FOG or other debris from force mains, collection lines, pumps and wet wells, and/or installing and providing maintenance for air relief valves (“ARV's”) designed to relieve air and gases that may accumulate in collection lines.